Turtle.

This is as good a place as any for this recuperating blogger to get back to his keyboard. 40 days after Tyler Coleman posted a piece which started a maelstrom of Parker bashing, The Wall Street Journal’s David Kesmodel provides his publication’s readers with a synopsis of the transpirings in wine geekdom that took place a month and a half ago.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the article, from a journalistic perspective. It’s just that the topic is over a month old. It’s stale. It’s burned through its cycle. (more…)

The senate is having a hearing on the future of journalism AT THIS MOMENT and the panel before the committee is made up of journalists, print and on-line publishers (Arianna Huffington), web site representatives and people who run on-line versions of print newspapers.

Go to http://www.cnn.com/video/# (no archived video available at this time).

The two hour, 48 minute and 24 second video is here in its entirety (5/7/2009).

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In related news: VinTank released their first Social Media Report today.

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05 - 07 - 2009 update:

Some coverage of the hearing:

• Associated Press
• Wall Street Journal
• PoynterOnline
• Huffington Post

Also:

Chairman, John Kerry’s statement, prepared prior to the hearing.

Rupert Murdoch says his web sites will cahrge for content within a year.

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05 - 08 - 2009 update:

But… then there’s this. Web users polled, say they don’t want to pay for content.

Retirement

In every profession and endeavor there comes a point when it’s time to quit. In most cases, physical abilities or endurance wane despite a wealth of experience, knowledge and competence. In some instances, sadly, it is the other way around. In other cases, the passion fades and there is nothing to drive one forward. Sometimes, the going simply gets too tough.

The inevitable senescence of our bodies forces many to detach themselves from the professional activities which were the embodiment of their identities. (more…)

Ethics.

The most recent post on Tyler Coleman’s DrVino continues to generate a flurry of comments, criticism and accusations regarding The Wine Advocate’s journalistic ethics. While this single publication is in the spotlight at the moment, many other wine journalists and publication have dealt with similar questions of ethics.

Questions of integrity, honesty and impartiality of wine writers or publications taking free samples, paid trips, etc aside, there is the unspoken but rather incendiary implication that some wine writers may be accepting samples, trips and the like for a personal benefit or gain. That gain, at least on one level, is the opportunity to experience the world of wine in a way that would otherwise be out of their reach. (more…)

Tesla Tower.

Subjects in the world of wine are not charged with any urgency or greater social import. Perhaps for that reason, the vast majority of people in the industry are rarely in any hurry to get a wine article published as soon as possible. Much of that may be rooted in the fact that wine writing and reporting has been largely limited to the weekend section of the local paper or a printed periodical focused on wine.

On-line publication platforms, on the other hand, can offer much greater immediacy. The turn-around times on stories and post are very short. This makes them the antithesis of static print. Yes they can be direct, raw and even frenetic. (more…)

Woodshed.

The commercial success of any brand hinges on its flexibility and adaptability. For Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate brand, that issue is in the spotlight today. Yesterday, Tyler Coleman published an email exchange between Mark Squires and Slate’s Mike Steinberger over a deleted thread on the eRobertParker.com forum.

The post has prompted a deluge of criticism over the moderation policies on Parker’s forum - and to an extent on those of the Wine Spectator. (more…)

Spotlight.

I was honored to participate as the current subject of Tom Wark’s Bloggerview series. This is the wine blogging equivalent of the Charlie Rose Show. It’s an opportunity for bloggers to get a little time in the spotlight by answering intelligent questions in a free and unrestrained manner.

Tom is not only a champion of unrestrained wine shipping but of wine blogging. He asks every featured blogger the same set of questions which seek to explore the blogger’s personality, promote their blog and probe their views on the impact blogs on the wine industry.

I encourage all readers to visit the Bloggerview section on Tom’s blog and explore the 20 other interviews.